Fire Service and Emergency Response

Twenty-five years, federal and state, most of it in prevention.

Agencies and rank

• USDA Forest Service — Fire Battalion Chief, Prevention, Vallejo, California; advanced from Fire Prevention Captain. Field assignments included the San Jacinto Ranger District and fire prevention program coordination in Cabazon, Snow Creek and Palm Springs.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Utah Division of Forestry
• CAL FIRE

Assignments moved across the United States, concentrated in the Western states.

Incident command qualifications

National Wildfire Coordinating Group:

• Incident Commander Type 3
• Division/Group Supervisor
• Task Force Leader
• Strike Team Leader
• Crew Boss
• Engine Boss
• Forest Protection Officer (federal law enforcement officer)

FEMA National Incident Management System and National Response Plan training. Earlier federal incident qualification also carried Incident Commander Type 4, Prevention Technician, Hazardous Materials Specialist, Security Specialist 2, Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1 and EMT-Intermediate.

State fire training

California State Fire Marshal certifications: Fire Company Officer, Chief Officer, the hazardous materials progression from Operations through Technician and Specialist to Incident Commander, and Fire Investigator 1 and 2. I also completed Emergency Response to Terrorism at the National Fire Academy.

The fire investigation certifications are part of this history. They are not a service line: McNeil Safety Consulting does not take fire origin-and-cause or arson investigation work.

Hazardous materials

• Hazardous Materials Manager
• Hazardous Materials Specialist
• Hazardous Materials Incident Commander — Hazardous Materials Scene Management, Incident Commander, 24 hours
• HAZWOPER, 40 hours — the general site worker training length at 8 CCR §5192(e)(3)(A)
• First Responder Operations, certificate number 37320, 0.8 IACET CEUs — certificate states on its face that it satisfies 29 CFR §1910.120(q)(6)(ii)
• Introduction to Clandestine Laboratory Investigations, 16 hours, with recurring recertification — the training basis for work under Health and Safety Code §§25400.10–25400.47 and §25400.16

Law enforcement

• Sworn peace officer, State of Utah — Utah POST Peace Officer 1
• California POST peace officer training, including powers of arrest and emergency vehicle operations
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center — including officer safety, risk management and mitigation, and hate and bias crimes
• Post-blast investigation and suicide-bombing trend coursework through the FBI’s virtual academy
• ATF Accelerant Detection Canine Handler, basic course
• Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training — clandestine laboratory investigation and recertification, fentanyl safety and naloxone, tactical medicine
• Member, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association

Emergency medical

• EMT-II, California
• Certified Tactical Medic, with continuing education in tactical medicine and airway management
• BLS and ACLS provider certification, issued August 2026, current to August 2028
• Fentanyl safety and naloxone first aid
• Advanced Topics on Medical Defense Against Biological and Chemical Agents — six modules, 12 contact hours, VA Learning University, with course directors from USAMRIID and USAMRICD

Recognition from this period

• USDA Forest Service Certificate of Merit — San Jacinto Ranger District, hazardous materials site cleanup and hazard communication program work performed outside the position description
• USDA Forest Service Certificate of Merit — January 2006, signed by the Forest Supervisor, fire prevention program coordination and hazardous materials training program update
• Certificate of Appreciation, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton — 16 June 2008
• Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, U.S. House of Representatives — 18 May 2001

Full award texts are on the recognition page. Certificates are provided on request.